In this interlocutory appeal, the employer challenges the trial court’s determination that the employee’s physician, with whom he had treated prior to the work injury, became his authorized physician upon referral from the panel-selected physician. The employee lost his footing and fell while he was unloading a truck at work, resulting in injuries to his neck, back, and ribs. The employer accepted the claim and provided a panel of physicians from which the employee selected a doctor. That physician then referred the employee to the doctor who had previously performed back surgery for a non-work-related condition. The employer did not provide another panel in response to that direct referral but instead authorized the visit, and that physician opined that the fall at work was the cause of his current need for additional surgery. Subsequently, a utilization review physician concluded the recommended surgery was not medically necessary, and the Bureau’s Medical Director agreed. Following that denial, the employer denied the employee’s request to return to the physician who had recommended surgery. As a result, the employee returned to his initial panel physician. That physician agreed the work accident was the cause of the employee’s need for surgery and stated the employee should follow up with the surgeon to whom he had referred the employee. Thereafter, the employee attended a medical examination with another physician at the employer’s request, and that physician disagreed about the cause of the need for surgery. The referral physician, citing an emergent need, performed surgery without the employer’s authorization. Following an expedited hearing, the trial court determined that: (1) a valid direct referral had been made; (2) the referral doctor became the authorized physician; (3) the surgery was work-related and reasonably necessary; and (4) the employee was entitled to temporary disability benefits following surgery. The employer has appealed. Upon careful consideration of the record and the arguments of counsel, we affirm the trial court’s order and remand the case.

Gibson County Sheriff Paul Thomas has pleaded not guilty to 18 charges that he illegally profited from the work of jail inmates under his supervision and housed dozens of them in a home outside of the prison without permission. Thomas was indicted in May in Gibson and Davidson counties on 22 charges, including official misconduct, theft, forgery and computer crimes involving jail inmates in his custody. Arraignment for the charges in Davidson County will take place at a later date, the Associated Press reports.

U.S. Circuit Judge Pauline Newman — who at age 97 is the oldest federal judge not to have taken senior status — continues to fight her suspension from the bench following allegations that she is no longer fit to serve. A federal judge this week dismissed a lawsuit Newman brought in an attempt to return to her seat on the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Federal Circuit, which focuses on patents, trademarks and certain other matters. The circuit's judicial council suspended Newman last September for at least one year or until she sits for court-ordered medical examinations, based on signs of serious cognitive and physical impairment. The council also found that she refused to cooperate with inquiries into her mental health. Newman has vowed to appeal, according to Reuters.

The Tennessee Attorney General’s Office has responded to complaints from a member of the state Registry of Election Finance about the time it took to investigate a case, the Tennessee Lookout reports. In a letter to the registry, the attorney general’s office wrote that it is “not an investigative agency” and because referrals to it are not mandatory, the registry could choose to refer its cases to another entity. The registry had asked the office to investigate a complaint that the group Sumner County Constitutional Republicans was acting as a political action committee without registering with the state. The attorney general’s office completed a report on the case in late June, about five months after receiving the referral.

U.S. Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez, D-New York, has introduced articles of impeachment against U.S. Supreme Court Justices Clarence Thomas and Samuel Alito, The Hill reports. The congresswoman said in a statement that the justices’ "pattern of refusal to recuse from consequential matters before the court in which they hold widely documented financial and personal entanglements constitutes a grave threat to American rule of law." She also says the pair should be removed for their “failure to disclose” millions of dollars in gifts over decades.

The TBA’s Court Square Series will be in Chattanooga this Friday with an impressive line up of judges. The three-hour session will feature Judge Marie Williams talking about courtroom best practices, Judge Barry Steelman discussing criminal law and Rob Malin providing an update on estate planning. Other participants include Judge Michael Dumitru, Judge Kathryn Sell and Brennan Wingerter with the District Public Defenders Conference. The Court Square Series is intended to bring top speakers to local legal communities and foster relationships and collegiality among lawyers across the state.

Burch, Porter & Johnson tomorrow will hold a reception for retired judge Bernice Donald to commemorate naming of the “Judge Bernice Bouie Donald Street.” The event will take place from 4-6 p.m. CDT at the firm’s office at 130 N. Court Ave., Memphis 38103. Donald joined the firm following her retirement from the U.S. 6th Circuit Court of Appeals. View the invitation.

The Nashville Banner reports on the recent scrutiny and differing opinions regarding Davidson County Criminal Court Judge Cheryl Blackburn’s mental acuity, prompted by an April 8 order in which she recused herself from the case of a man charged with aggravated assault, kidnapping and rape. Attorneys who have spent years practicing in her courtroom have varying takes on the ongoing questions about Blackburn's competence on the bench, the news outlet reports. Blackburn, who is in her mid-70s and suffered a stroke in 2021 has been on the bench in Nashville since 1996. 

Question 1: Is a biological half-sibling of a person a “family member” under Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1- 108?

Opinion 1: Yes.

Question 2: If so, does that status as a “family member” under Tenn. Code Ann. § 57-1-108 change if one of the half-siblings is adopted by different parents than the other sibling?

Opinion 2: Likely not.

The Metro Human Relations Commission on Monday accepted the terms of a conciliated agreement, the next step in resolving a civil rights complaint filed by a group of artists in October. The agreement contains a “make-whole” financial provision that will fully fund applications for 26 public art projects — most of which are murals — that were left out of the Arts Commission’s 2024 funding allocations. The Nashville Post reports that the agreement contains no admission of fault by any party, including Metro Legal and the Metro Arts Commission, and requires the artists to drop any related legal claims against the city.